


Taken - (30 Day Fic Challenge)

by Smudgegirl



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 30dayfic, Angst, Hurt Danny "Danno" Williams, Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-07 04:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 11,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3161726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smudgegirl/pseuds/Smudgegirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>one word a day to prompt one chapter, Story will develop as I get the words - 30 day fic challenge</p><p>Steve mistakenly sends Danny to the wrong location and Danny disappears, will the team be able to find him in time?<br/>Little bit of Whump and angst and guilt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time

**Author's Note:**

> Unbetaed so all mistakes are my own. Written as part of this http://30dayfic.tumblr.com/ Challenge on Tumblr

Danny untucked his shirt and undid another button, he was hot beyond measure and he knew he was getting sunburned. He had been trying to sit in the shade as much as possible, but the only patch of shade left was now at least 40 feet away from the side of the road and his car. 

Scratching his chin he wondered how long he'd been out here for. It felt like five hours, but realistically he knew it couldn't have been longer than two. “Two hours in hell,” he muttered under his breath. His stomach growled telling him it must be getting close to lunch time. Steve and Chin were always ragging him to wear a watch, he just didn't see the point, he had his cell phone to check the time on, until now that was. He picked it up once more, idly pressing the power button and checking the screen. Nope, still dead. 

The day had started out with such promise, he had woken up to the smell of coffee and the sounds of birds chirping outside his window. Grace had finally figured out how to use the new coffee machine and had taken to brewing him coffee in the morning to help speed things along. He told himself it was because she loved him and wanted his day to start off well, but realistically he knew she just didn't want to be late for school. He had a suspicion it may have something to do with that new boy who started there last month. He couldn't recall the kids name right now, but Grace never seemed to stop talking about him. When did she become old enough to have her first crush? 

He dropped Grace at school, ignoring how quickly she jumped out the car with barely a kiss on his cheek and as he was pulling out into the main road his phone beeped to tell him he had received a text. It was from Steve giving him coordinates to meet the team at a crime scene out in the middle of no where. He'd grumbled a bit about the fact that they were already there without him, but in the back of his mind he knew Steve tried his best to give him time to get Grace to school in the morning before bothering him with work. Cases intruded on their home lives so much that he did appreciate the gesture.

It was on his way to meet the rest of the team when this happened. This, being his predicament right now. He had been driving up a dirt road carved into the side of a hill, relying on his GPS for directions when everything in the Camaro died. Not with a big puff of smoke or a grinding noise from the engine, it just shut down and died. His radio wouldn't work, his GPS went black and no matter how many times he tried it, the engine wouldn't even click over.

Mentally he berated Steve for making him drive to what he was convinced was Timbuktu and reached for his phone, only to find that dead as well. Cursing to himself, he swore he would start getting into a better habit of putting the phone on charge every night. He mostly let his phone charge from the car, but that wasn't an option right now.

He had paced up and down the road for a bit before settling in what had been the only patch of shade under an overhanging rock. From what he had seen on the map there was only one road in and out of the area so he decided to wait. The team would be along soon enough, they had to wrap up the crime scene and head back to the office eventually. That would bring them right past him. He knew Steve would lecture him on not having snacks and water in the car for this type of emergency and really he had been meaning to restock the pack he usually kept in the trunk. He,d raided it at Grace's last cheerleading rally when he was starving and the lines at the concession stands were too long for his patience. 

What seemed to be possibly another hour crawled slowly by, something in the back of Danny's mind started itching and the sweat running down between his shoulder blades suddenly seemed icy cold. Something wasn't right.


	2. Water

Danny scribbled a note to Steve and left it on his car dashboard in case he was wrong and the team drove past. Taking a deep breath he started to walk back down the hill towards the last bit of civilization he had seen. From what he could remember he would have to get to the main road and walk a mile or two before he came to the gas station he had used on the way in that morning. He knew it was going to be a long, hot walk but figured he had no choice since there seemed to be no other activity on the road. He had been walking down the dry dusty excuse for a road, muttering to himself about dying of heat stroke on this god forsaken, pineapple infested hell hole, for around 30 minutes when he heard a truck coming down behind him.

He relaxed, figuring it was finally Steve chasing him down and was bitterly disappointed when he turned to see a white pickup truck round the corner. He held up his hand to flag them down and the truck slowed to a stop next to him.

“Hey, Bra. That your car on the side up there?” The driver motioned back up the hill with his head.

Danny nodded, “Damn thing just stopped on me with no warning. Can I borrow your cell phone?”

“There’s no signal on the side of the hill here, you can get service at the very top or when you hit the main road at the bottom. Hop on in, I’ll give you a ride down and we can get you some help.”

“Thanks. Man is it hot out there.” Danny huffed, as he hoisted himself into the cab of the pickup. 

“Yeah sorry, Bra, the air conditioner in here is broken. There's a bottle of water in the glove compartment though, you look thirsty, help yourself.” 

Danny wiped the sweat off his face with his sleeve and thankfully took the water out and cracked the seal with relief. He quickly gulped back nearly the whole bottle, only slowing near the end as he felt his thirst ease up.

“What’s at the top of the hill?” he asked the well tanned man behind the wheel.

“Oh there’s nothing up there, just a viewing spot overlooking the ocean, it’s always deserted except for a few tourists or the local kids on the weekends.” 

Danny chuckled, understanding the implication of what the local kids would be doing there, while silently vowing to put a tracker on Grace’s phone as soon as he could.

As Danny drained the last few sips of water from the bottle, the cell phone in the pocket of the driver pinged with the new message alert. Danny turned his head, looking puzzled as he realized they were still no where near the main road. Seeing the man frown and shake his head, he reached for his gun as his brain sluggishly put the pieces together. The world started tilting and instead of his gun, Danny had to try grab hold of the door to steady himself as things went black.


	3. Tree

Steve stood up stretching out the kinks from being hunched over examining the body. He turned to stare down the road and scowled. “Where the fuck is he?” he muttered to no one in particular.

“Have you tried to call him?” Chin asked, although he already knew the answer.

“It went straight to voicemail. He texted back to say he was on his way over an hour ago. It shouldn’t take this long.”

“Well, we’re all done here,” Kono said cheerfully, walking up to them. “Text him to tell him to meet us back at the office. Maybe he got delayed dropping Grace at school.”

Steve shrugged and stalked back to his truck looking grumpy.

“I wouldn’t want to be Danny when he gets hold of him,” said Chin looking at Kono with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh please, Danny will bat his eyes and Steve will forgive him in about 10 seconds,” Kono laughed. “You coming or walking?” she said with a grin turning towards the car.

***

Chin stared at the evidence in front of him, so engrossed he almost jumped when Steve started talking right behind him.

“Can you trace his car?”

“Danny? You still heard nothing? Sure I can,” he started pulling the relevant data up as Kono walked in hurriedly.

“Umm...Steve, did you send Danny and I the same text this morning?”

“Yeah, you were both late to the action, why?” Steve looked confused at the mixed look of amusement and horror on Kono’s face.

“Oh my God, Steve, I think autocorrect got ahold of your typing. You sent him to the other side of the island!” She said in almost a hushed whisper. “He’s going to be so pissed with you!”

Steve stared in horror at the phone screen that she was holding up. “But you...you got there?” he blurted out trying to wrap his mind around the information, unsure if he should be relieved or preparing to meet his maker when Danny got back.

“I never read your text properly until now, I was on the phone with Chin when it came through and he gave me the address verbally.”

Steve groaned as he ran his hands through his hair, the knowledge that he had screwed up sinking in. “Well no wonder he’s not taking my calls or texting me back. I’ll leave him an apology text and voicemail and give him the day to cool off.” Steve let out a nervous laugh as he turned to go back to his office, preparing himself to grovel.

***

It was late afternoon and Steve was starting to get angry. Anyone could make a mistake. He had texted, he had left messages, multiple times. Nothing, he had heard nothing back from Danny. He expected an angry phone call or a text, even a message through one of the others to tell him to go to hell, but nothing.

His phone beeped with an incoming text.

_Is Danno with you? He’s not answering his phone and he was supposed to pick me up from cheerleading practice 20 minutes ago?_

He read it twice, his heart sinking a little more each time, before quickly replying, _I’ll be right there, wait for me under the tree._ He didn’t need to say which tree, Danny always sat under the same one while watching her practice. Lately, Steve had been joining him. He grabbed his keys and jogged out the office yelling to Chin. “Start that trace on Danny’s car now! He hasn’t collected Grace from school. Call me with the results!”


	4. Eyes

Steve looked down into Graces big brown eyes and all thoughts of what he had been rehearsing and preparing in his mind to tell her while racing to collect her vanished. He had been planning to be vague, to say Danny was busy and that he had been supposed to pick her up. Looking into those eyes though, he knew he couldn’t lie.

"Uncle Steve?" He knew that tone, it was her 'means business' tone, it was eerily similar to Danny’s. "What’s going on? Where is Danno?" She crossed her arms defiantly, refusing to move towards the parking lot until she had some sort of answer.

"Gracie, you're not stupid or a baby anymore, so I'm going to be honest with you okay? But, you're going to have to promise to trust me and let me work." Steve took a deep breath, "We don't know where he is. There was a mix up this morning and I thought he was mad and not talking to me until you called to say he wasn't here. I’ve got Chin tracing his car, so the sooner you come with me, the sooner we'll know what's going on." He held out his arm pointing to the truck, guiding her gently in the right direction.

Biting her lip, Grace, blinked back the tears she could feel prickling in her eyes and nodded.

Breathing a small sigh of relief at the compliance, Steve looked down at his phone for what seemed like the millionth time that day. Still nothing, no Danny and worrying, no news from Chin.

***  
Chin and Kono looked up in surprise to see Grace and Steve enter the room and head quickly through to Steve's office.

Steve came out almost immediately and shrugged at their questioning looks. "She refuses to go home, so I said she could wait and do her homework in my office while we figure out what's up." He looked across at Chin expectantly, "What do you have? Do we have a location?"

"There's nothing, Steve, absolutely nothing, it's like his car has disappeared, same with his cell. I've checked that there were no accidents or incidents this morning with HPD too. I think we need to drive to the location you texted him and see if we can get any clues as to where he's gone or what has happened."


	5. Belief

Danny slowly cracked opened his eyes, things were fuzzy and he was not sure where he was. Rapidly, as the damp smell and his stark surroundings hit him the memories came flooding back. Truck...drinking water...he was drugged. He shook off the immediate feeling of fear and panic and got unsteadily to his feet. He could hear voices in the distance but no one was in sight, so he slowly and carefully took stock of his situation.

He was in a fairly bare room, there were bars on a small window that was too high for him to be able to see out of, unless he found a chair from somewhere. He had been sitting on a basic bed and the room held a sink and toilet at the far end. The door was reinforced and had an open window with bars on it at around head height and a horizontal slit under the bars for what Danny figured was passing plates of food through. He figured, due to the high small window on the wall and the damp earthy smell,  that maybe he was in a basement, but wherever he was he did not currently see a way out.

He walked over to the door and banged on it, “Hey! Hey, what the fuck is going on? Let me out of here!”

A callous laugh followed and a scrawny, dirty looking, thin man came into view, “No no my friend, you are now my guest here! I have big plans for you, big big plans.”

Danny punched the door in frustration, accomplishing nothing other than hurting his hand.

“No sense injuring yourself friend, we have no doctor here. Just sit down and enjoy your stay with us.” The man sneered coming close enough to the door to look inside the room.

“My name is not _friend_ , my name is Danny, Detective Danny Williams and you need to save yourself some pain and let me out of here right now before my friends come looking for me!” Danny snarled back at the man with as much venom as he could muster.

The man paled fractionally for a second before yelling up the stairs, “Asshole, you grabbed a cop? Are you fucking kidding me! A fucking cop!”

Heavy steps came pounding down the stairs and the man from the truck earlier came into view. “A cop?” He laughed a little nervously, “You said to grab the next car up the hill, how was I supposed to know he was a cop?”

“My friends are going to make you wish you weren’t born when they get here.” Danny gritted out, still nursing his rather sore hand.

The thin man, having regained his composure laughed, “Your belief in your friends abilities is admirable, but I assure you, no one will ever find you...ever.”

**  
**


	6. Knife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the next few chapters are late. I am recovering from surgery and hope to catch up to the rest in the next few days. This one is a little short, but the mind is only just starting to work again.

Danny stared down at the slop accompanied by some kind of indescribable meat on the paper plate that had been pushed through the opening in the door. He was hungry, he'd eat it if he knew it wasn't drugged. It looked disgusting, but then again his Aunt's meatloaf always looked awful and tasted like heaven. He'd long ago learned not to judge a book by its cover. 

"You're not hungry?" Scrawny, as Danny had nicknamed him, commented from the door.

"You expect me to eat this slop with my fingers?" Danny motioned towards the plate with disgust, "I'm not an animal!"

Scrawny laughed, "Fine, I'll get you some cutlery and fine china." He walked out of sight momentarily and returned, shoving a flimsy plastic knife and fork through the bars in the door. "There, Princess, eat up, you're gonna need your strength."

Trying not to read too much meaning into that last statement, Danny realized the wisdom in listening to it. He would need his strength to try an escape if the moment arose. 

He was pleasantly surprised, it didn't taste too bad. Not that he'd be dishing out any compliments to the chef anytime soon, but he had eaten worse.


	7. Argument

Steve drove back down the road from the viewing point. There was no sign of Danny or his car. His knuckles tightened on the wheel, what was he going to tell Grace now?

Chin who had been sitting silently in the passenger seat suddenly let out an exclamation, "Stop! Steve, stop!"

Without hesitation he brought the truck to a standstill immediately, "What? Did you see something?" 

"Backup about 20 feet," Chin said craning his neck to see, "I might be mistaken, just backup!"

He sounded a little scared and frantic, something that didn't sit well with Steve at all. The realization that where he was backing up to, was a section where the side of the road dropped off to a fairly steep cliff that led to the ocean, didn't do much to calm the building tension that was rising in Steve's gut either.

As Chin leapt from the truck to investigate something, Kono and Grover pulled up and parked. They had taken the alternate, slightly longer route to the location to ensure all bases were covered. 

"Nothing, boss, no sign of him," Kono announced, taking a breath to say something else but never getting chance due to a frantic shout from Chin.

"Guys, over here! Fuck! Call rescue, we're going to need some special equipment."

Leaving Kono, who had been the first to grab her phone, to quickly organize a response, Steve and Lou ran to where Chin was peering down the drop off. Steve's heart lurched at the sight. Halfway down the side a twisted hunk of black metal perched precariously on some rocks.

"No, no no!" He chanted, half to himself, half out loud, this couldn't be how this ended. Danny and him had only recently admitted to there being something more to their relationship, they had been trying to work through the minefield that was dating, working, being partners. They hadn't even told Grace yet. He refused to believe that he could lose Danny so stupidly.

He was blindly pulling ropes out of the back of the truck, tieing them off and putting his climbing gear on and stuffing whatever first aid kits he could see into his backpack. His ears were buzzing, he could see the others talking, but the only thing he could hear was Danny's voice giving him a clear argument why what he was about to attempt was insane and how he needed to stand down. Typical, Danny wasn't even here and yet he was still Steve's voice of conscience and rationale. 

Steve felt something on his arm and looked down. Lou's big hand was wrapped tightly around his forearm. "I'm not letting you go down there. Rescue is 10 minutes out, let the professionals handle this, Steve."

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but Chin interrupted. "I agree! You're not going down there." His jaw was clenched and fists balled. "I can already hear a chopper, we'll know soon enough."


	8. Winter

Danny woke up from an uneasy sleep, shivering. The basement was cool and damp. He half laughed at the irony of being cold in Hawaii. It was winter after all, but Hawaii in winter was still something any proud New Jerseyan would scoff at admitting to being cold in. He rubbed his arms vigorously to warm up and did some quick push ups to get the blood flowing. He still had no idea what these crazies wanted with him and why he was currently in this predicament. Hearing a noise outside the door, Danny stood up and looked out the bars to see what was going on. 

"Hello, my friend," Scrawny grinned at him, "later today we're going on an outing." He slid a shallow bowl of what looked like lumpy oatmeal through the door. "Enjoy!" 

Danny sat quietly for a while after eating, listening to the sounds he could hear, which truthfully was very little. He stared up at the small window unable to gain much of a clue about where he was. He could see the top of a palm tree blowing vigorously in the wind and the dark clouds threatening a storm, but that didn't give away anything. 

His mind drifted to thoughts of Grace and Steve. He knew Grace would be scared but well taken care of, his trust in Steve was implicit. He hoped if the worst happened, Grace would take care of Steve, the two of them would need each other. The sound of the door opening shook him out of his thoughts.

"Come on, we've got a long way to walk," his original abductor stood there, waving a gun at him. "No funny business, or you'll be walking with a bullet in you."

Danny jumped to his feet, walking, outside, this was good, it might provide an escape chance.

"I mean it, I will shoot you if you run." It was like the guy could read his mind.

"I don't need to run, my friends will find you and throw your sorry ass in jail." 

"Your friends think you're dead," Scrawny joined the conversation. "Car accident, it's so sad really, even made the newspaper." He handed Danny a newspaper to read quickly.

The headline did not give Danny much hope: Detective From Governors Task Force killed in Accident.


	9. Love

Steve blinked his eyes, he must have dozed off after all. He would've sworn nothing would settle him down enough to sleep, but an armful of sobbing Grace who had eventually cried herself to sleep, had left him unable to move and he too had finally drifted off. They were both still on the couch, so he heard the soft knock on the door, followed by a key sliding into the lock and relaxed. The team had promised they would be over first thing in the morning and Chin had his own key.

Chin, Kono and Lou walked into the room to the sight of Steve trying to extricate himself from Graces' limp arms.  


Lou smiled sadly and quickly walked over, expertly sliding his arms in and under her, lifting her with ease. "Which room should I put her in?" He whispered softly.  


"The guest one, thanks. It's uh, it's where she always sleeps when they stay over," Steve whispered back, partly relieved to be able to stretch and partly already missing the comforting feel of her arms. Danny always said one of the best things about Gracie hugs was the love she managed to make you feel when she gave them.  


Seeing Lou disappear up the stairs, Steve steeled himself for whatever news there might be. "Okay, what've we got?"  


Chin looked tired, but something in his eyes gleamed. "I know everyone originally presumed that due to the missing windshield, Danny had possibly been thrown out the car and into the ocean at the bottom. But as we all agreed, leave no stone unturned."  


Steve breathed a small sigh of relief at the glimmer in the cousins eyes. He had left the scene once Danny's body was not found and returned immediately to the office to be with Grace. He knew his team wouldn't let him down.  


"Okay, well, out with it?"  


"I got the guys to empty and search the trash bins at the lookout sight at the top. They found this..." Chin paused pulling out a crumpled piece of paper in an evidence bag, trying to smooth it once more.  


Steve grabbed at it, immediately recognizing Danny's untidy scrawl.  


  


_ Steve, _  


_Car shut down, phone won't work._

_Walking back down to find a phone_

_before I die of heatstroke and thirst._

_If you get this before I call, come find me._

_D_

_**  
**_

Steve closed his eyes for a minute, "He wasn't in the car..." It was more a statement than a question.

"No, he wasn't in the car." Chin agreed. "There were two sets of tire tracks at the edge of the road, someone must have rolled the car off. We're not going to bother to correct the newspapers for now. It seems someone wants us to think Danny died out there, so let's run with that."  


Kono patted Steve's arm, "We took the paper to Fong first, he lifted some prints and they're busy running through the databases now to see if we can get hits on anything that isn't Danny's."  


****  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chocolate

Danny stumbled again. This walking through the forest with your hands tied behind you was not as easy as one would think. He kept losing his balance, tripping over tree roots or just plain missing his footing. His knee was hurting, his ribs were hurting, now his head was starting to throb. He took a moment to lie on the dirt and get his breath back, a few seconds later he was jerked back to his feet and pushed forward. 

"Come on, keep walking, we need to make the hut by nightfall, I'm not spending a night out in the open because you're too clumsy." Scrawny spat out. He didn't exactly look like he was thrilled with being outdoors.

They continued on through a roughly carved path, Danny noted that both men seemed sure of where they were going, there was no consulting of a map or compass. Trying to wipe the sweat from his eyes with his shoulder he glanced down at his shirt only to realize it wasn't sweat, his head was bleeding. One of his stumbles must have been harder than he thought.

"This is fine, I want some food," the larger man shoved Danny against some rocks that formed an overhang on the path. "Sit, shut your mouth, maybe we'll give you some water," he said viciously.

Danny sat. Taking note of every little detail he could. The bigger man seemed more at ease in the outdoors, but was definitely more brawn than brains. Danny chuckled to himself, Scrawny and Brawny. As dire as his situation seemed he could still see the levity in his nicknames.

Scrawny dug around in his backpack and pulled out some sandwiches and chocolate which both men shared amicably. Danny's stomach grumbled, it had been a while since breakfast. 

"You can have dinner tonight at the hut," Scrawny said. "We're not going to need you for that much longer after tomorrow." He turned addressing Brawny, "Give him some water, we don't need him passing out on us before we get there, Mom will be mad if he's too far gone."

Danny nearly choked on the water he was being offered. Mom? They were brothers? He tried to absorb the new information and factor it into all the rest, but he still came up blank as to what was going on.


	11. Clothes

Steve brushed the remaining flakes of whatever it was Kamekona had thrust into his hands to eat on his way into the office, off his clothes. Grace was content to stay with Kamekona, she had tried her best to smile and given Steve a tight hug before he left, whispering a simple, "Bring Danno home."

Striding into the office he was greeted immediately by Kono, waving some sheets of paper. "We've got a name, Boss." She signaled to Lou and Chin to join them as they raced through to the smart table.

A few flicks of the wrist and a picture appeared on the screen. "His name is, Kanuha Mahelona, he's a local. Apparently a bit of a drifter unfortunately with no known address. I've got a facial recognition search going on at all the local cctv camera's, and an APB out on him. In the meantime, I'm trying to find out more information about him." She took a breath, avoiding looking Steve in the eye.

"Kono?" Steve was able to read everyone in his team well and knew there was more.

"He's been booked on a bunch of petty thefts and vagrancy, but I haven't been able to get much more on him. However, I'm waiting for a warrant, he's been in and out of psych wards in his youth, but I couldn't get access to his records without a warrant." Her phone buzzed with a text.  
"And there it is, Steve, you want to come with or should I take Chin?"

***  
"Steve, would you sit down!" Kono was wishing she had brought Chin. Steve was currently wearing a hole in the Dr's carpet.

The door to the office opened and a mild looking, grey haired man entered. "Hi, I'm Dr Samson, I hear you are here for information on Mr Mahelona?"

"Yes," Steve started impatiently, "we have a warrant."

"Oh I know that," chuckled the doctor. "I have his files here. I was his doctor on at least two of his stays with us though and I wanted chance to tell you about him."

Deciding Steve looked like he wanted to grab the files and run Kono spoke up. "Could we make it a highlights reel? We think he has taken our friend captive and we really need to start digging into his background to see where he may have gone."

Dr Samson's eyes widened. "Yes, of course." His manner changed immediately sensing the urgency. "You'll want to find his twin brother, Kealoha." 

Kono was already texting the details to Chin to start the search.

"Where Kealoha is, Kanuha is probably not far behind. You'll also want to look for their mother. I can't remember her name off hand, but you'll find it in the files. She is a real piece of work, last I knew she was into demon worship and the occult. She practices witchcraft of some sort. It's no wonder those boys are so messed up."

Kono and Steve shot each other a quick sideways glance, they both wanted to get out and start searching immediately on hearing that. 

Dr Samson held out the files along with his business card. "Call me if I can be of any further help."


	12. Holiday

Danny's shoulders ached. He desperately wanted to stretch his arms, but since they were tied behind his back and Brawny had come up with the bright idea to attach a leash type rope to his wrists he could barely even move his shoulders. He swore silently to himself as another branch slapped back hitting him in the mouth. A mosquito landed on his face and he tried desperately to rub it off by ducking his head and rubbing his cheek on his shoulder. For not the first time, he wondered what the allure in Hawaii was. Why did everyone fantasize about a holiday here? He'd give anything to be back in New Jersey right now. But New Jersey didn't have Steve, he frowned at that thought, Steve. Where was he, was he looking for him? Did he think he was dead? Was he planning a funeral? Danny shook the morbid thoughts out of his head knowing he could not get by dwelling on "what ifs." He needed to be alert, pay attention to his surroundings and concentrate on where his feet were going.

"Nearly there," Scrawny sounded relieved. "Why does she have to live in the middle of no-where anyway?" He complained to no one in general.

"We only hike out here once a month, stop complaining," came the answer curtly. "Just be glad we only have to bring her one of these every six months."

Danny's ears prickled. One of these? A person? Were they referring to him? He immediately started trying to remember any missing persons cases from this side of the island that they may have had cross their desks six months ago. There was that tourist, a hiker, but they had eventually found his body. He was pretty beaten up and amid advanced decomposition it had been concluded he had fallen and been impaled in the heart by a sharp stick.

Danny suddenly felt the pull on his wrists go slack and took the chance that Brawny's grip on the rope was loose. He ran as fast as he could hearing both men shout in surprise as he broke free. Through the bushes and trees, over logs, he kept going. Determined to put as much space between himself and the two men as possible. He rounded a clump of rocks, disoriented and breathing hard. He felt something connect with the back of his head in an instant of pain. Hitting the ground face first, his training kicked in and he rolled to see what was going on. The last thing he saw as his vision faded to black was the crazed face of a woman grinning down at him.


	13. Alien

Steve sighed and slammed the file on his desk shut in frustration making Kono jump. 

"Boss?" She said sympathetically, making a move to get off the floor and go to him.

He smiled apologetically and waved her to sit back down, "I know, I'm sorry, there's just so little information on this guy and his family. Danny may as well have been abducted by an alien." He rubbed his eyes before continuing,"None of them have a paper trail in the last 10 years, there's no known address, no car registrations, no bank accounts. How the hell do they live?" 

Chin held up his hand in a, 'give me a second' motion, staring at his file intently. "I think I have something." He looked up to find all eyes on him waiting expectantly.

"It says here that he mentioned his brother Kealoha working at a fresh fruit stand just off the main the road, he talks about how he used to go steal food from there as he knew if his brother caught him he'd let him off." He walked to the smart table quickly pulling up a map. "Here," he dropped a pin, "this is where we found Danny's car." He looked back at the file and quickly scanned the map again. "Right here, is where his brother works or worked. They're not all that far away from each other. It's worth looking into. At the very least maybe we can find some locals there who know more about the brothers and give us more of a clue where they would be."

For the first time Steve looked a little hopeful, "Chin, I feel like some fruit for lunch, how about you."


	14. Foreign

Steve eased the truck into a parking spot outside the fruit stand. It may have been called a fruit stand when the original report was written, but business was obviously good. It was more of a small store now, selling everything from frozen ice, basic food and every fruit concoction thinkable. He climbed out the drivers seat, aware how Chin was watching his every move.

"What?"

"Nothing, I just need to know you're not going to lose it if you think someone is holding back information," Chin said cautiously. "I mean, it's Danny, we all know how close you guys are..."

Steve shot a warning glance, "Stop, we are not having this conversation now. I am fine, and nothing is going to happen to Danny, we're going to get him back."

Chin nodded, choosing to stay silent and followed Steve inside.

An elderly, timid looking Chinese man greeted them eagerly. "Welcome, friends. What can I get for you today?"

Pulling out the old pictures they had managed to find of the brothers, Steve placed them on the counter. Noting immediately how the man paled a little. "We need to find these men. One or both, urgently. Can you help?"

He shakily pointed a finger at the one picture, "Kealoha. He used to work here. But you know that already, that's why you're here."

"Yes," Chin said kindly, "but we need to find them now. Do you know where they live?"

The man looked at Chin for a minute, "They're bad men. Very bad. They've been staying in the abandoned house off the dirt track." He pointed up a dirt road that ran next to the store. "If you go right to the top, it's on your left," he added. He thought for a moment while rearranging a basket of bananas. "The owner of the house, he was foreign, he disappeared about a year ago. Some people say he went home. He would've said goodbye, I think they did something," he nodded his head at the photos.

"Thank you," Steve said stuffing the pictures back in his vest pocket before turning to leave. He was stopped by a young girls voice.

"Grandad, you must tell them about the mother." A girl of around 16 stood in the doorway.

The old man sighed, "Yes, I should. She lives in a hut further in the woods. You can follow a rough path from the end of the road, it's a long way in though. A good few hours of hiking. She's loco, completely, how you youngsters say? Bat shit crazy. But those boys, they will do anything she says." He shuddered at the thought.


	15. Film

The team suspiciously eyed the house. "I don't think there's anyone there," Kono said as they finalized their breaching tactics. 

"Eyes open and be careful," Steve said sternly. "Also we want them alive at all costs in case Danny isn't in there."

Everyone nodded and headed in their assigned entry points.

"Clear."

"Clear."

"Clear."

One by one the shouts rang out as they swept through the house. It was indeed empty. 

"Who lives here?" Lou mused looking over a table of electronics and gadgets.

"Jerry just got back to me, the house is owned by a Johan Van Staden, a German national. He was a retired engineer and inventor. But he hasn't been heard of in over a year." Chin said looking around the room. "Don't touch that!" He quickly admonished as Lou opened a weird looking gadget.

"Why? What is it?"

"It's an EMP cannon. And it looks powerful enough to take out all our electronics and the cars outside and I don't feel like walking home." Chin snapped suddenly feeling irritated. His facial expression quickly changed as both him and Lou arrived at the same conclusion together. 

"Danny's car!" They simultaneously exclaimed.

They were interrupted by a shout from Kono, "Guys! Over here, I've found a hidden door to a basement!"

By the time they got there, Steve and Kono were already downstairs, joining them they found a rudimentary room with a cell like room off to the side. "He was here," Steve squatted down looking at a thin film of dust on the floor in the corner. "He's written his name and the date in the dust."

"So...we go find the loco mother?" Chin questioned.

"Yeah, but it's a few hours hiking. We've got an hour, maybe two of light left." Steve rubbed his temples, now was not the time for a headache. "Kono, call Kamekona, ask him to leave Grace with his cousin and get the chopper out here."


	16. Actor

To his credit Kamekona didn't take long. Soon they were bundling into the chopper and taking off.

"Where to, Commander?" His face was rigid and all business. Steve would've laughed if the situation hadn't been so dire. 

"I'm not exactly sure, there's a hut a few hours walk into the woods, we need to get there urgently. Take us in a northerly direction and hopefully we can see lights or a clearing or smoke..." Steve trailed off realizing the team he had already sent along the ground path with Kono might actually have a better chance of getting there first.

Kamekona twitched turning the chopper in a more Northeast direction, and suddenly seemed very intent on staring at his dials.

"What?" Steve stared at him from the passenger seat.

"Nothing, Nothing..."

"Kamekona, if there is one thing you are not, it's a good actor...spit it out."

"The witchy woman? She da one who has Jersey?"

Steve glared at him, "You know her?"

"Well not personally...but you know, I hear the rumours."

Chin sat up sharply, "What rumours? Where there's a rumour there's always an ounce of truth."

"It's just talk, brah." Kamekona insisted, but he continued. "People say that at sunset every six months she sacrifices someone to appease some demon she made a pact with. It's to keep her and dem twins souls out from hell."

Lou cleared his throat, putting into words the single thought going through everyone's minds. "The sun just set, five minutes ago."


	17. Key

Danny's head hurt, he didn't want to open his eyes but he knew he had to. His hands had been repositioned while he was unconscious and now they hung above his head in metal shackles.

"Mama, he's awake!" Kealoha jumped up as soon as Danny moved.

"Oh good, just in time to give him the brew." The woman leaned over him, "hold his nose, he's got to swallow most of this or he won't see the Kanaloa and be able to negotiate our souls free."

Danny tried his best not to swallow the thick, sweet, sticky liquid that was being poured into his mouth, but his head was being held back so tight that it was swallow or not breath. The urge to breath gave way and he felt it warm his throat as it slipped down. 

His three captors stood staring at him for the next 20 minutes while his head began to spin. He could hear them talking but couldn't work out what they were saying. His arms felt heavy, he didn't think he could talk if he tried. The room was moving, furniture was melting, morphing into other objects. A lantern turned into a dog with fangs and chicken legs, there were snakes growing out of people's heads. Danny wanted to scream, to hide and cower in a corner but even drugged to the hilt a background voice that sounded awfully like Steve kept telling him to try and keep it together, to watch for a chance to get out of here.

"He's out of it, unshackle him." The woman's voice pierced his thoughts.

"Are you sure? Remember he's a cop." That sounded like Scrawny.

"The rules are that he can't be tied up when we take his heart. He has to be unrestrained and conscious. You know that," she snapped back.

Danny felt someone, possibly Brawny insert a key into the cuffs around his wrists and release them. His arms dropped to his sides limply. He could see the door, the last streaks of sunlight coming in as the sun was setting. He saw someone strike a match and light the lantern. He willed his legs to move, but nothing would work. Steve's voice yelled at him inside his head. "No ones watching run damn it, run for a Grace, run for me," it said.

Somehow Danny's legs worked, he ran. He knocked the table with the fanged, chicken legged dog on it as he ran, he legs unsteady. He had one thing in his sights, the doorway, the trees beyond it. He never saw the lantern fall and the fuel spill. He heard the screams but they never registered over his one thought of "get out, get out."


	18. Picture

There was a glow emanating from the trees ahead of them.

"What's that" Grover asked pointing.

"There's no electricity out here, looks like a fire, a fairly big fire," Steve said leaning forward trying to get a better view.

"That's where the witchy woman's house is, brah!" Kamekona said anxiously, "we'll be there in a minute just sit tight."

True to his word, about two minutes later they were on the ground, staring helplessly at the hut that was now engulfed in flames. There was no sign of life anywhere.

"Danny!" Steve yelled until his voice was raw, finally collapsing to his knees.

"There's nothing we can do, Steve," Chin put his hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "We don't even know for sure that they brought him here."

A piece of slightly charred paper fluttered down next to them in the wind and Steve reached down to pick it up. "Yeah, we do," he said sadly, his voice cracking as he turned it over revealing a picture of Danny, Grace and him on the beach. "Danny always kept this in his pocket. He said it was his constant reminder to stay safe and come home at the end of the day."


	19. Hat

Danny stumbled, but he kept running. He didn't have a clue where he was running to, it was dark, he was drugged and seeing trees and logs coming to life. He could hear something chasing him. His only thought was to keep running, to get away. Was it the devil that the woman had talked about, was it one of these demonic trees trying to tear his arms off. 

Suddenly, the ground gave way underneath him and he felt himself falling, his arms and legs stopped working and he hit the riverbed below hard. All he could do was lie there and wheeze. The waters edge was an inch from his face, taunting him, reminding him how thirsty he was, but just out of reach.

Danny closed his eyes, a futile attempt to stop seeing the vivid, grotesque images that flashed before him. Steve's face appeared behind his eyelids, morphing into half Steve, half Wo Fat. 

"Which hat are you going to wear today, Detective?" It was Steve's voice but something was off. "You gonna be big brave detective or whiny, pain in the butt, weakling?" It seemed like Wo Fat was taking over, Steve's side of the face melting, flesh peeling back like when Wo Fat had been burned in the accident.

"No, no, no," Danny moaned, clenching his eyes shut tighter and curling into a ball.

The trees went silent, the wind died down, then with a crack of lightening, big drops of rain began to fall.


	20. Columns

The sun was rising and the rain that had been falling had helped extinguish the fire. Columns of smoke rose up from the burnt out hut, ominously swirling in the breeze. Steve's stomach seemed to match those patterns as he watch the teams who had flown in overnight set to work in the ashes.

"That photograph doesn't mean he was in there, Steve," Kono sat down beside him, trying to draw his gaze away from the picture he'd been squinting at by flashlight for the better part of the night. 

"I know, but if they moved him from here then burnt the place, where did they go to? Oh and did I mention we missed the sunset deadline but a good 20 minutes," he replied bitterly. "Chances are they sacrificed him, torched the hut and moved on to avoid us."

"We'll catch them if that's the case," Chin joined the conversation. "We've got men scouring the woods and teams situated at every access and exit point in the region. If they pop up at any, we'll hear immediately."

Steve nodded and looked up at his team. His eyes were red from the smoke and strain of the night. At least now with the sun breaking over the horizon he could see their concern and worry in their faces. "Thanks, guys. I know we'll..." He stopped, his eyes focussing on an area that the rising sun was illuminating at the edge of the clearing. "Someone went through there in a hurry," he said pointing and almost tripping in his rush to show where he meant. "Look, look at all these broken branches and how the ground is all torn up." Hope suddenly sprung in his chest. "Our perps wouldn't have run like this, they would've headed off down one of the paths then veered off into the trees."

"Commander!" Max's voice called from the shell of the hut. The medical examiner hurried over to join them. "There are two bodies in there, the first is definitely female and the second, male. But the male is around 5'9 in height and I think we can therefore safely rule out Detective Williams. He's not here, you still need to find him."

Steve felt like he breathed his first real breath of air since arriving on the scene. Turning quickly to address the team, he saw them already in action, loading packs with water, radios and first aid basics. 

Kono looked at him and grinned, "Let's go, boss."


	21. Towel

Danny lay in the mud unable to move. The rain kept falling, inch by inch the water in the river rose. "Breath in, breath out" Steve's voice in his head sounded more like Steve, less like Wo Fat. "Think logically, none of these monsters are real, keep breathing, wait it out, you can do this."

Someone put a boot on the side of his face, pushing his head town into the mud. Thick mud and water trickled into his open mouth and up his nose, he coughed and spluttered trying to breath. As black spots danced before his eyes, the pressure lessened and he was roughly dragged back from the water and dropped into a bush.

"So you thought running from us would save your skin. Well I've got news for you, cop," Brawny spat out the words. "I was right behind you and if I hadn't tripped I would've had you before you reached the tree line. But I got you now, and now once the sun comes up I'm taking you back."

Danny groaned, although he still couldn't move, he was no longer having hallucinations and he was aware now of where he was and how cold and wet he was. He'd give anything for a hot shower and soft fluffy towel. He'd never given up on his belief that Steve would find him in time, until now. A little voice in the back of his mind began to doubt. Maybe Steve really did think he was dead, maybe no one was looking for him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get away a second time. Maybe this really was it.

The rain slowed a bit and the sky started getting lighter in trees through the east, Brawny stood up leering down at Danny. "Come on cop. Oh wait, you still can't move can you?" He chuckled, "we don't know how long this stuff lasts you see, no ones been alive at this stage usually." He grabbed Danny like a sack of potatoes and slung him over his shoulders, "Guess I'll have to carry you back."


	22. Hate

Steve took the lead, putting his tracking skills to good use. At first it was an easy trail to follow, someone had fled in a hurry, there was a lot of destruction. Rocks overturned, branches broken, lots of disturbed ground. After the rainfall of the previous night though, some of the trail had been washed away.

Stopping suddenly under some dense foliage Steve crouched down for a closer look at something.

"What is it?" Chin asked softly.

"There's two sets of footprints here. See, one smaller, more of a loafer type shoe and the other a larger, heavier print in a hiking boot of some kind." Steve pointed out the differences in the mud.

Kono spoke up, "If Danny got away, maybe someone was chasing him?"

"We need to find him first then," Steve stood up with a new sense of purpose in his step. "Let's keep moving."

Hearing noises coming their way, Steve fought the urge to call out for Danny, holding up a fist to signal danger ahead. The team spread out silently, watching, waiting.

Before long a heavier set man burst through the bushes, sweating and muttering half to himself and half to the bundle over his shoulders.

"Freeze, Five-0," Steve yelled, gun trained on the man in front of him.

Kanuha stopped and sized the team up. "I'll break his neck," he threatened, squeezing harder where he had gripped Danny. 

Danny blinked, he wanted to scream, yell at Steve to just shoot the bastard, but nothing came out of his mouth. 

"Danny? You okay buddy?" Steve was concerned. He could see Danny's eyes open but there was no response. He was limp, bloody, dirty and his clothes were torn. Steve hated seeing him so helpless.

"I need to go back," Kanuha started walking.

Steve took aim and fired, shooting him in the leg, causing him to stumble and release his grip on Danny. Immediately, Chin and Grover were on him, wrestling him to the ground.

Kono and Steve ran to check on Danny who was lying dead still next to the fray.


	23. Ornament

Danny lay face down, he could hear Brawny screaming in pain, and out of the side of his vision saw Chin, not so gently restrain him. 

Strong, familiar hands gently lifted him and rolled him over.

"Danny? Hey Danno, come on babe, talk to me," Steve implored, while doing a quick assessment.

"What's wrong with him?" That was Kono's voice, but she was standing out of his line of vision.

Steve peered worriedly into his eyes. "I'm not sure, I can't find any major wounds. His heads cracked pretty bad and his breathing is shallow. He may have a couple of broken ribs. Pulse is strong, but a little erratic." Steve looked up, "Has anyone called in our position? We're going to need a MediVac."

"Affirmative," came back Grover's voice, "they'll be here in twenty."

Danny tried to speak but a garbled grunt of "Nnghhhrf," was all that came out between wheezing. His eyes darted over to Brawny. What he really wanted to tell Steve was to catch the other two family members.

Fortunately the fact that Steve was well versed in Dannyism, and that their telepathic way of talking was well practised meant it was all he needed to say. "The hut they had you in burned down Danno, the other two are dead." Steve replied while uncapping a water bottle. "I'm just gonna wash the mud and blood off your face here and out of your mouth, okay?"

Danny wished he could speak, he desperately wanted to get that worried frown off Steve's face.

"There's a clearing about 20 yards to the east of us where they can bring the chopper down, they'll be here soon." Chin came into view.

Hearing the distant sound of a chopper, Chin took out a flare gun and shot one off to mark their spot. It hung like an out of place ornament in the sky above them as the helicopter came into view.


	24. Ocean

"He's not breathing very well," the medic looked concerned.

Steve leaned over, Danny's eyes were still open, tracking every movement, but looking slightly panicky. "Can we try sitting him up slightly? Back there he was leaning up on a grassy bank for a bit and seemed better."

The medic thought for a few seconds then shrugged, "I'm not sure what we could lean him up against. There's not a whole lot in here, Commander."

Steve didn't hesitate, "Let me sit behind him." He didn't wait for an answer, gently lifting Danny's torso and slipping in behind him. He was pleased to hear Danny's breathing even out. He was also secretly pleased to be able to wrap his arms around Danny for the first time and hold him close. "We'll be at the hospital soon, Danno. Just try relax. Look at the window here and concentrate on the coastline and the ocean, it won't be long." He kept murmuring in Danny's ear, rubbing his hand gently up and down Danny's arm reassuringly.

His phone beeped and he carefully extracted it from his pocket, making sure not to jostle Danny. It was a text from Kono:

 _Questioned Kanuha, tell doctors he says his mother prepared some hallucinogenic drug from plant extracts. He has no idea what went into it though. No traces of it here to analyze due to fire_.

Steve swore silently, he hoped the doctors would be able to figure out what was going on quickly. He couldn't imagine trying to explain to Grace why her father was awake but couldn't move or talk.


	25. Naked

"Commander, you need to leave the room please." The nurse was trying to be firm but polite. She was obviously new and didn't know Five-0's reputation.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Steve said stubbornly. "He's my partner, I'm staying!"

The young nurse opened her mouth once more to object but was quickly waved down by the doctor.

"You can stay, but you stand at the top of the bed, while we check what injuries he has, and stay out of our way. I mean it." He added sternly. "I will have you removed if you get in our way or interfere. I don't care if you're the Governors Task Force, in here, I'm in charge!"

Steve nodded grimly. Trying to smile slightly for the benefit of Danny's eyes which were fixed on him. He put a hand on Danny's cheek, "Don't worry Danno, the worst is over, we've got you."

The nurses went about stripping Danny naked, washing and wiping the dirt and grime off him as they checked for injuries and drew vial after vial of blood.

"He's got at least three cracked ribs, his knee and ankle look sprained, and he has a nasty concussion too." The doctor eventually concluded. "His pulse rate is not too bad, a little erratic though but that's probably from whatever he has been drugged with. 

A new nurse came in with some heated blankets and a clean hospital gown, expertly slipping Danny's arms into the gown and tucking the warm blankets around him.

"We're going to take him up to his room now and continue to monitor him while we run these blood samples to see if we can analyze the drug." The doctor stated. "I presume you and your team will be keeping him company there?"

Steve nodded, "I have to go run a quick errand, Danno." He whispered into Danny's ear. "Close your eyes and try sleep a while, I'll meet you back in your room shortly."


	26. Hair

Steve drove as fast as he could back to the house. He knew Danny would probably grumble that Grace shouldn't be worried about him being in hospital and all drugged up still. However after weighing the options of her knowing that he was safe and being treated versus still missing, Steve decided on telling her the truth. She wasn't a baby anymore as much as Danny still liked to think she was.

"Uncle Steve!" The shriek was loud as he walked through the door. "Have you found him? Kamekona said you went looking for him in the forest."

Steve glared at Kamekona over her head, he'd explicitly told him not to say anything.

"Keiki forced it out of me, Brah." He said ruefully with a shrug, waiting almost as expectantly for an answer as Grace. "So, did you get Jersey?"

Steve untangled Grace's arms from his waist and sat down on a nearby chair pulling her close so he could see directly into her eyes when he spoke. "We got him!" He started with a grin, "but..." He took a breath, "he's been drugged with something and can't move or talk yet. He's also a bit banged up, but he going to be fine." He added quickly. "He's at the hospital now getting treated and set up in his own cozy room with lots of nurses to fuss over him."

Seeing her face fall into a worried frown, he quickly pulled her onto his knee, brushing his hand through her hair. "He's strong, Grace. He'll be fine. He's one of the toughest men I know."

She nodded her head, wrapping her arms around his neck, "He doesn't need nurses to fuss over him. He needs us. You and me." She whispered softly "We're the ones that love him Uncle Steve, can we go see him now?"

Steve ducked his head with a smile. They hadn't told Grace about their relationship yet, but she was wiser than they thought. Deciding it wasn't his place to say anymore without Danny present, he just nodded and whispered back, "yes we do Gracie, yes we do."  
Looking up he saw a plate of untouched breakfast on the table. "Tell you what, Gracie. You eat your breakfast while I go and shower and change and then we'll go and make a fuss of him ourselves, okay?"


	27. Action

Steve took a swift shower and came downstairs to find a plate of food waiting for him on the table. 

"Eat, brah, I doubt you've had much since I gave you breakfast to go, when you left Keiki with me." Kamekona said with a firm stare. 

Steve nodded in agreement, his stomach rumbling on cue. "I had a few protein bars" he said trying to not sound petulant, "but I could eat, quickly though...yes."

It wasn't long before he and Grace were walking into the hospital clutching a bunch of "get well" balloons.

Chin, Kono and Lou were already seated in Danny's room playing quietly on their phones.

"There hasn't been much action," Chin said quietly after hugging Grace. "He's been asleep mostly. They came in to take more blood and do more tests and he opened his eyes and looked around, I think looking for you guys. But then went right back to sleep."

"He's obviously been through a lot and is exhausted too," Kono added reassuringly, "Sleep is probably what he needs right now to help."

Grace bit her lip, gently wrapping her hand up in Danny's. "I'll just hold his hand until he wakes up then," she said trying to blink back a few tears.

The doctor from earlier appeared at the door and nodded his head, signaling to Steve to join him outside.

"We are still not completely sure what he was drugged with, our tox screens came back with multiple hits of various plant toxins," he started off. "However our latest blood panel that we ran on him shows a significant decrease of toxins in his blood stream, so it's our opinion that his body just needs time to process everything and get it out his system. We're pushing fluids into him to help too."

Steve nodded with relief at the news. "Mahalo, we'll just wait it out until he wakes up then."


	28. Religion

"You praying there?" Kono chuckled slightly at Steve who was sitting with his hands clasped and eyes closed.

"You think it would wake him up any faster?" Steve answered without even opening his eyes. "I might be persuaded to find religion in that case." He sighed impatiently, it was nearly time to go in search of dinner. Not that he felt hungry at all, but he was trying to stand in for Danny and make sure Grace was fed and coping with this all okay.

"Guys! Uncle Steve!" Grace's excited exclamation had them all sit up. "He squeezed my hand I think he's waking up."

Steve sent his chair scuttling backwards as he rushed over to the bedside to join Grace just in time to see Danny's eyelids flutter open.

"Hey, babe, how're you feeling?" Steve held his breath waiting for a movement or reply.

Danny groaned as he stretched slowly and winced as the pain in his ribs hit. "Like I've been hit by a bus," he slurred. "But it's all good. I can apparently talk again and hug my monkey here," he pulled Grace onto the bed with him to snuggle into his arms.

Danny smiled fuzzily up at Steve, "I knew you'd find me. I just had to stay alive long enough and I knew you guys would come."


	29. Lips

Danny cracked his eyes open to see sunlight streaming in the window. His arms were empty of Grace, whom he knew was there when he fell asleep last night. 

"Oh good you're up finally." 

"Mmm, yeah. Where is she?" Danny tried to sit up.

"Whoa, take it slow, babe." Steve rushed forward to put a hand on his shoulder. "I figured she'd get more sleep in her own bed at home, so I sent her home with Kono." 

Danny took a sip of water to clear his mouth. "Ugh...need coffee, not this shit." He looked up at Steve, "can you call Kono and get her to bring me coffee when they come back?"

Steve shook his head, "No can do, Danno, sorry."

"What? If these half baked crack doctors won't let me have caffeine I'm going to walk out of here right now..." Danny pursed his lips and paused at the sight of Steve laughing. "What?"

"You're going home, that's why they can't bring you coffee. They're waiting for us at my place." Steve waved some papers at Danny. "I already got your discharge papers signed, we need to get you dressed and we can leave. I was just waiting for you to wake up from your beauty sleep there."

Danny tried to scowl at him, but the grin on his face made it impossible.


	30. History

Danny sat in the shade sipping his bottle of water. He really wanted a beer, but Steve had glared at him after he suggested it and muttered something about pain pills. It was good to see everyone relaxed and enjoying some downtime. Even Steve who seemed to have been on edge the whole way home from the hospital, was finally starting to smile again.

Kono sat down beside him and took his hand. "Glad you're safe, Danny. You had us all worried."

"Good. I had myself worried there too." Danny laughed a forced chuckle. "Something's been bugging me though."

"What's that?"

"Well," Danny went on, "Chin said after they took me they had time to go back and drive my car off the cliff?"

"Uh huh," Kono seemed suddenly distracted, like she'd like to run away as fast as she could.

"If you guys were up the hill at a crime scene, why didn't you find it earlier, how come he had all that time?"

"Um, uh...well..." Kono looked across at Steve who had been on his way over to them and was now frozen in one spot. He resembled a deer stuck in the headlights of an oncoming car. "I should let Steve explain that part." She blurted out and quickly stood up and walked past him. She patted Steve on the shoulder as she went. "Good luck, Brah."

"Steven?" Danny's tone had changed to a much sterner, more serious one. "What haven't you told me?"

Steve pulled a chair up so he could sit directly in front of a Danny and sat down with their knees touching. He took Danny's hands in his and cleared his throat. "I need you not to get too mad with me okay?"

"What did you do? Did you blow up something?"

"No, nothing blew up..."

"You drove my car off the cliff and blamed, Brawny?"

"Brawny? Who? What, no just wait a minute and let me finish." Steve decided it was now or never. "I sent you to the wrong location on the day you were grabbed. Autocorrect must have gotten hold of my typing and...well, we were never up that hill." Steve sat back, avoiding eye contact and held his breath, waiting. What he didn't expect was for Danny to start laughing loudly.

"Oh, ow, my ribs," gasped Danny as he tried to control his laughter.

"You're not yelling at me?" Steve said incredulously.

"Oh, babe, you will pay. You are going to be waiting on me hand and foot for the foreseeable future to make up for this. But, it's history, gone and done and the way I see it, they were going to take someone anyway. Because they took me and not someone else, we caught them and stopped them."

Steve sat up with a small smile, "That we did, Danno. That we did."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me and reading this. It was an interesting approach to writing and the first time I've ever done a challenge like this, so I do hope it worked okay :)


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